interconnected pores may be viewed as tubes through which water and air can pass, even though they are hardly straight, but rather twisted. because these tubes are narrow and kinked, air and water do not travel quickly. the larger pores, called macropores, or aeration pores, create the easiest pathways, and so largely determine the movement of air and water through the soil. as water drains down through the soil, it pulls air in behind it, which occupies the macropores